Pretense Of Glory : The Life of General Nathaniel P. Banks

In this first modern biography of Nathaniel P. Banks, James G. Hollandsworth, Jr., reveals the complicated and contradictory nature of the man who called himself the "fighting politician." Despite a lack of formal education, family connections, and personal fortune, Banks (1816–1884) advanced from the Massachusetts legislature to the governorship to the U.S. Congress and Speaker of the House. He learned early in his political career that the pretext of conviction can be more important than the conviction itself, and he practiced a politics of expedience, espousing popular beliefs but never defining beliefs of his own. A leader in the new Republican party, he developed a reputation as a compelling orator and a politician with a bright future. At the onset of the Civil War, Lincoln appointed Banks a major general, and, as Hollandsworth shows, the same pretext of conviction that served Banks so well in politics proved disastrous on the battlefield. He suffered resounding defeats in the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign, the Battle of Cedar Mountain, and the Red River Campaign. Illuminating the personal characteristics that stalled the promise of Banks’s early political career and contributed to his dismal record as a commanding officer, Hollandsworth demonstrates how Banks’s obsessive pretense of glory prevented him from achieving its reality. "Nathaniel P. Banks (1816-1884) enjoyed a long and almost continuous career in public service -- election to the Massachusetts legislature, elevation to the governorship of the state, and ten terms of service in the U.S. Congress -- in spite of his lack of formal education, family connections, or personal fortune. Banks was known as a statesman of unsurpassed skill, a compelling speaker, and a politician with a bright future. Nevertheless, this "master of opportunities" fell short of his ultimate goal -- the White House -- and eventually squandered the promise of his early career. In Pretense of Glory, the first modern biography of Banks, James Hollandsworth reveals the complicated and contradictory nature of the man who called himself the "fighting politician".In 1858, Republican Speaker of the House Banks appeared to be a likely candidate for the highest office in the land. His differences with the Radical Republican delegation in his home state, however, had ireparably damaged his standing in the Party, and Abraham Lincoln received the coveted nomination.With the onset of the Civil War in January 1861, Banks enthusiastically joined the Union effort. Though lacking both training and experience, as a major general of volunteers Banks raised recruits, money, and morale. On the battle-field however, he proved to be a disaster. He lost hundreds of men during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign and, though completely routed, refused to admit defeat. He led hasty, ill-advised attacks at Port Hudson, resulting in 3,750 casualties among his men but only 600 for the Confederates. During the Red River campaign in 1864, Banks trounced the Confederates but then -- in a repeat of his earliertactical mistakes -- retreated when he should have attacked. This debacle led to the end of his military career. Banks resumed his political career, but his waffling between factions eventually destroyed his credibility.In this engrossing biography, Hollandsworth illuminates those aspects of Banks's personality that prevented him from realizing the promise of his early career in politics and contributed to his dismal record as a commanding officer. Hollandsworth reveals how Banks's obsessive pretense of glory prevented him from achieving its reality. In Pretense of Glory, the first modern biography of Nathaniel P. Banks, James G. Hollandsworth, Jr., reveals the complicated and contradictory nature of the man who called himself the "fighting politician." Banks (1816-1884) enjoyed a long and almost continuous career in public service - election to the Massachusetts legislature, elevation to the governorship of the state, and ten terms in the U.S. Congress - in spite of his lack of formal education, family connections, and personal fortune. An energetic, industrious youth, he taught himself law, studied foreign languages, and throughout his life maintained active interest in history, economics, and "the science of government." Banks became known as a skillful statesman, a compelling speaker, and a politician with a bright future. Nevertheless, this "master of opportunities" fell short of his ultimate goal - the White House - and proved to be a leader who sacrificed much to political expedience. In this engrossing biography, Hollandsworth illuminates the characteristics of Banks's personality that prevented him from realizing the promise of his early career in politics and contributed to his dismal record as a commanding officer. Hollandsworth reveals how Banks's obsessive pretense of glory prevented him from achieving its reality. In 1858 Nathaniel P. Banks seemed to have had as good a chance as anyone to become the next president of the United States.